McLean High School, Langley High School and Cooper Middle School are among roughly 200 Fairfax County school properties where automated license plate readers are now banned after a 12-0 school board vote Sept. 24.

The Fairfax County School Board's unanimous motion prohibits the installation, procurement or leasing of ALPRs, including Flock Safety cameras, on any property the board owns. Vice Chair Kyle McDaniel introduced the measure, and Springfield District representative Sandy Anderson seconded it.

"We are not the police department; we are an educational institution," McDaniel said at the Sept. 24 meeting, as first reported by WTOP. "Our job, our mission, our focus, our budget dollars are about making sure 177,000 kids get the best education possible."

The ban does not affect speed cameras in school zones, school bus stop-arm cameras or existing security cameras. Those systems store footage on Fairfax County servers for 14 to 30 days.

FCPS Chief Safety and Security Officer Brian Lambert told the board that ALPRs differ from standard security cameras because they use software to capture and retain vehicle metadata, including plate numbers, make, model, color and distinguishing features.

The ban is preemptive. Superintendent Michelle Reid told board members that no Flock cameras are installed on FCPS property and none were planned.

Franconia District representative Marcia St. John-Cunning said at the same meeting that the district's existing cameras will "provide the necessary security" without adopting technology that "does not have guardrails," according to FFXnow's Sept. 28 coverage.

County pause sets stage for Oct. 20 review

The school board's action follows a separate unanimous vote by the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 15 to pause new Flock camera installations by the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD). The pause will hold until the Safety and Security Committee meets Oct. 20, when police will present their evaluation of the ALPR program, FFXnow reported.

The county's 84 stationary Flock cameras remain active during the pause. FCPD also operates 712 Axon Fleet 3 plate readers mounted on police cruisers.

Police data shows the ALPR program supported 1,594 cases between November 2022 and Sept. 4, 2026, resulting in 912 arrests and 2,633 charges. Officers also recovered 555 stolen vehicles valued at more than $9.2 million and located 57 missing persons, according to the Fairfax Times.

Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman suggested the BOS pause could be "the beginning of the end for Flock," FFXnow reported Sept. 16.

Limits of the school ban

The school board's ban applies only to property it owns. It does not reach county-owned land, public roads or private property near schools.

That gap matters. Private Flock cameras operated by homeowners associations, apartment complexes and businesses outnumber the county's 84 police units by four to five times, the Great Falls Connection reported Oct. 7. Virginia law regulates only law enforcement ALPR use. Commercial properties, parking garages and repossession companies deploy the readers with virtually no state oversight.

Chris Kaiser, policy director for the ACLU of Virginia, said the technology "has no place in Virginia and should be banned statewide," the Great Falls Connection reported.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger called outright bans "overly simplistic," according to WTOP. Republican state Sen. Glen Sturtevant has said he plans to introduce a ban bill in the next General Assembly session.

The Board of Supervisors Safety and Security Committee meets Oct. 20, when police will present data on the county's ALPR program.